Stevie Ray Vaughan - Live at Montreux 1982 and 1985 [DVD]

Those of us that have, shall we say, unofficial audio and video of SRV gigs know that there is a mountain of stuff still waiting to be released, but finding a way to package it as anything but another SRV gig is difficult. Sony have succeeded in doing this by following up on the Audio release of this material a couple of years ago, picking up the theme of a tale of two gigs - the first gig launching Stevie's career, despite a less-than-enthusiastic reception from the audience and the second gig on the DVD being the triumphant return 3 years later.

What do we get then?

Firstly, generally enhanced sound and picture quality from any unofficial video releases - great news.
It's not that brilliant tho' folks. Again, like the Rockpalast stuff, the original TV sound mix lets it down a bit in places.

What else do we get? Well, the first gig is very much how Double Trouble were before the first album came out - a pretty straight blues set, few effects, only two amps and only two guitars. It's a non-headlining gig, so is limited to 8 songs. It's a good performance, pretty much straight through with little introduction in between songs. I love this era of Stevie's playing, as it shows the band as a real working unit, having to work their audience.

The second gig is quite different. There is far more flambuoyance, longer songs - including a guest spot from Johnny Copeland - and more chat between songs. This is a more assertive Stevie, playing songs from his first three hit albums.

Guest spots are always better when you are there, but as a record of Stevies respect and generosity to other players, this is interesting and all in all pretty good stuff.

There is a 25 minute documentary which sums up the significance of the gigs, included as a bonus on the DVD, plus a discography [ more about advertising than anything].

So, what is not so good about this DVD?

I'm not sure what John Mayer really adds to the documentary. I know he's been influenced by Stevie and he's a nice bloke, but that's all . The documentary would benefit from using more unseen footage from other gigs as links between interviews, instead of rolling out excerpts of the El Mocombo and Austin City Limits gigs, and studio tracks that are just quiet enough to make out but not hear properly. The menus on the DVD are also a bit repetitive - I've seen better active menus on other music DVDs that are easier to use - and again the same stills and slow-mo shots are used while the menus load.

The TV coverage is limited to a long shot for the encores - I presume this is the venue's own camera rather than the TV company's- and when it is knocked [or moved] Stevie goes out of shot. Sony insert some more of the tedious active menu pictures I described above during this part of the gig. It's a shame that the TV company finished recording properly, as SRV fans know that Couldn't Stand the Weather was a real tour de force in an SRV live show. The audio remains however, so it's not a complete disaster.

To summarise then. Long awaited in this format, and a truly excellent representation of two quite different SRV eras - both excellent in their own way.